Lawmakers have been taking steps to stop the spread of bird flu, which has depopulated about 47 million birds, and to make improvements to livestock care in federal research facilities, Agri-Pulse reported.
The House’s draft fiscal 2016 appropriations bill would provide $3 million for outreach efforts aimed at strengthening biosecurity at poultry operations and an extra $5 million for laboratories burdened with testing for avian influenza.
The bill also states $56 million of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) funding for 2016 will be withheld until the agency takes certain steps to ensure improvements in care.
Money was also added to the budget for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to provide oversight for the ARS facilities.
The full committee will consider the bill next Thursday. The rule is set to take effect Dec. 1 and would delay a new Food and Drug Administration rule requiring restaurants, supermarket delis and convenience stores to display calorie counts on menus until Dec. 1, 2016.
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